Photographic child s support



(No Model.) 0. LA PREASB.

PHOTOGRAPHIG GHILDS SUPPORT.

Patented Mar. 31,

" ATTORNEYS AN DREW lGRAHAM. PHO10-UTWO.WASH|NG1ON.D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT 'EEIcE.

CHARLES LA PREASE, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.

PHOTOGRAPHIC CHILDS SUPPORT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 557,132, dated March 31, 1896. Application filed June 19,1895. Serial No. 553,290. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, CHARLES LA PREASE, of Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Photographic Ohildrens Supports, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in a childs support for photographers use, and has for its object the production of a simple and practical device which effectively and positively supports the child; and to this end it consists, essentially, in the general construction and arrangement of the parts of the childs support, all as hereinafter fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

In describing this invention reference is had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which like letters indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figures 1 and 2 are respectively top plan and side elevation of my invention, the lower part of the frame or standard being broken away in Fig. 2. Fig. 3 is a detail vertical section taken on line 3 3, Fig. 1, the head-rest being removed; and Fig. 4 is an inverted plan of one end of one of the clamping-arms.

It is well known that considerable difficulty is at present experienced in photographing small children, particularly those in long dresses, since, being unable to sit erect, they must be supported by an attendant or relative, who is caused great inconvenience by a concealing-screen, and is usually unable to afford the desired support and maintain the childs dress in the position necessary for producing a pleasing efiect.

By my invention the child is firmly and positively supported without liability of falling, and its dress is held so as .to give a pleasing effect and permit of any desired adjust ment and draping. Moreover, the screen is dispensed with, and my support is of such construction that it is entirely concealed behind the childs body and within its clothing and without disarranging the fit of the latter in any way. The attendant or relative heretofore necessary in holding the child is free to attractits attention or determine when the desired facial expression is assumed.

' portion of said front edge.

- with concave inner faces 0.

My invention preferably consists of a seat, a body-clamp, a head-rest, and a single rod at the rear, constituting a suitable supporting frame or standard for said parts, although the head-rest may be dispensed with, if desired, providing the child possesses sufficient strength to maintain its head in its normal position. I

The seat A may be of any desirable form, size, and construction, and preferably consists of a body-piece a, usually formed of metal, and a facing a, of carpet, leather, or other suitable material. The front edge a of the seat inclines downwardly, and a projection or arm a tapering from its base toward its free extremity, extends upwardly from the central This projection or arm, as best seen in Fig. 1, is formed of considerably less width than the seat A, and its inner face a is formed convex.

The frame or standard B for supporting the seat A maybe of any desirable form, size, and construction, but preferably consists of a single cylindrical rod at the rear, which also supports the body-clamp and the head-rest. The seat A may be connected to the frame or standard B in any desirable manner; but I preferably provide said seat with a rearwardly-extending arm a, depressed beneath its top face and having an eye a encircling the standard B and movable lengthwise thereof. A clamping-screw a7, movable in the eye a", engages the frame or standard B and holds the seat in its adjusted position.

The body-clamp consists of a pair of arms 0 0, supported above the seat A and provided Corresponding ends of the arms 0 O are secured to a rod or bar 0, movable crosswise of and to the rear through the frame or standard B, and their opposite ends are movable toward and away from each other. The clamping-arms C O and the rod or bar 0 may be secured together in any desired manner; but I preferably providethe front end of the rod or bar 0 with a depressed engaging face 0, arrange the adjacent ends of the arms 0 0 upon said face. one above the other, and secure said arms in posit-ion by a clamping-screw 0 which is provided with a thumb-nut O and is passed through alined perforations 0 0 formed, respectively, in the rod or bar 0 and the clamping-arms O. The adjacent faces 0 of the lapped ends of the clamping-arms O are preferably provided with corrugations, and, if desired, the face adjacent to the face 0' may be provided with similar corrugations.

As previously stated, the rod or bar 0 which supports the clamping-arms O is movable crosswise of the frame or standard 13, and to facilitate this result the upper end of said frame or standard is provided with an eye I) for receiving the rear end of the rod or bar 0, which is preferably formed cylindrical. A suitable clamping-screw Z) is movable in the eye I) and engages the rod orbar G for holding the same in its adjusted position. The rod or bar 0 preferably supports the head-rest, which may be of any desirable form, size, and construction, although here illustrated as consisting of a curved bar D, and a shank (l, which is movable vertically in an eye Oflprovided in the front end of the rod or bar C, and is held in its adjusted position by a suitable clamping-screw 0 To facilitate adjustment of the head-rest and permit the eye 0 to be formed in the front end of the rod or bar 0, the upper end of the frame or standard B is arranged at the rear of the main portion of said frame or standard, and is connected thereto bya rearwardly-extending bent portion W. The shank cl of the head-rest is thus arranged in front of the upper end of the frame or standard B, and is movable with the rod or bar C toward and away from the laterally-extending portion 11 of said frame or standard.

In the operation of my invention the seat A is adjusted vertically toward or away from the body-clamp and is firmly held in its adj usted position, the child is placed upon the seat and its limbs are arranged on opposite sides of the projection or arm a the childs dress is opened at the back, the clampingarms are inserted so as to be concealed by the dress and suitably adjusted around its body and the dress buttoned or closed to the normal position. The head-rest is then adjusted vertically, and the child is firmly and easily supported. The photographer or attendant can then suitably arrange or drape the childs long dress, which produces a pleasing effect, as it is supported by the rounded front edge of the seat and extends downwardly therefrom, so as to conceal the standard B.

The operation of my invention will be readily perceived upon reference to the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings,

and it will be particularly noted that it is simple in construction, pleasing in appearance, is economically manufactured, supports the child positively and effectively, and is entirely concealed from view when the exposure is being made. It is evident, however, that the exact construction and arrangement of the parts of my photographic childs support may be somewhat varied without departing from the spirit of my invention, and consequently 1 do not herein limit myself to such exact construction and arrangement.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A photographic childs support comprising a single upright rod at the rear forming a supporting-standard, a seat having a downturned front edge excepting an upturned projection or arm at the center of said front edge which arm tapers from its base to its point, an eye at the rear of the seat embracing said rod, a set-screw through the eye against the rod, an eye formed in the upper end of the rod and extending from front to rear, a body clamp comprising arms adj usta-bly connected with a single rod which extends through said eye to the rear, and a set-screw in the eye, all as and for the purposes set forth.

2. A photographic childs support comprising a single upright red at the rear forming a supportin g-standard and having a rearward bend in its body, a seat having an eye at its rear embracing said rod below the bend therein, a set-screw through the eye against the rod, an eye in the standard above its bend and extending from front to rear, a bodyclamp comprising curved arms adjustably connected with a single rod which extends through said eye in the standard to the rear and is itself formed with an upright eye forward of the standard, a set-screw through the eye in the standard, a head-rest supported by a single upright shank which passes down through the upright eye, and a set-screw in this eye, all as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name, in the presence of two attesting witnesses, at Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, in the State of New York, this 14th day of June, 1895.

CHARLES LA PREASE. lVit-nesses:

E. A. WEIsBunc, H. E. CHASE. 

